Breakeven
by Ceiphied Knight
Summary: After five months on the road, Rumplestiltskin returns to Storybrooke and gets a very unpleasant surprise.
1. Chapter 1

**Breakeven**

When Rumplestiltskin returned to Storybrooke, five long months had passed.

The first thing he wanted to do was check on Belle, but it was also the thing he feared most. He didn't think he could deal with the terror in her eyes again…the lack of recognition when she looked at him.

But he had to know, so after making a few inquires he found out that she was back working at the library. He walked slowly toward the towering structure, trying to work up the courage to face whatever he found there.

What he found, though, was the last thing he could have possibly expected.

Belle stood behind the circulation desk looking radiant, but her face was rounder and her hair was longer. She looked up as he entered, and immediately walked around the desk to approach him with a timid smile.

Rumplestiltskin's breathing hitched and his heart began pounding wildly. Belle's belly was softly rounded, and that fact was only accentuated by the top she was wearing. His curse memories supplied the words "maternity top."

"Mr. Gold," she said, smiling timidly, "I'm so glad you're finally back from your trip. I…I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the hospital. I was so confused and scared…I'm sorry I broke your cup. I've been wanting to tell you for ages."

Her eyes belied no memory of him or of their love. She was looking at him as one would look at a friend or neighbor, but certainly not one's True Love.

"It's no matter," he said, then immediately regretted his word choice. It was something he had said before, when it was only the two of them and they were in love. It seemed grossly inappropriate now.

"It does matter!" Belle insisted, hovering a hand over her swollen belly. "That cup seemed to mean a lot to you, and the way I acted was uncivilized!"

Oh, yes, that cup had meant a great deal to him. But not so much as the stranger standing before him.

"Anyway," Belle continued, filling the awkward silence, "I'm glad you're back. Did you have a good trip?"

"It was…" Rumplestiltskin struggled to answer, "Uneventful. It looks like you've been busy while I was gone, though."

Belle blushed and looked down with a smile. "Yes, it happened very unexpectedly, but my boyfriend and I are quite happy."

Now, Rumplestiltskin felt that his heart might stop altogether.

"Boyfriend?" he managed to choke out.

"Yes, we met in the hospital of all places. We were in there at the same time all those months ago when I had my accident."

At that, Rumplestiltskin got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Storybrooke was a small town (though bigger than one might think) and there were only two other people who Belle could be referring to. No one else was admitted to the hospital at the same time as she was…

"Well," he said. "That's quite lucky."

"Yes," she agreed with a grin. "Killian won me over quite quickly because he seemed as lost as I was."

Rumplestiltskin gripped his cane so tightly that he thought his fingers might break. That curr had done it again…had taken what was his and ripped out a piece of his heart in the process. But this was a million times worse than Milah. Belle was _his _True Love, not that pirate's, and he was going to pay for what he'd done. He'd defiled his brave, beautiful Belle and told lie upon lie to convince her that…what? That he loved her? He must have.

He would avenge Belle if it was the last thing he ever did.

"Anyway," Belle went on, "please don't be a stranger."

"No, of course not," Rumplestiltskin muttered. He then added, "when is the little one due?"

"Oh, not for another six months or so."

Now, Rumplestiltskin was a sorcerer and certainly not a doctor, but he'd had a pregnant wife and something was not adding up.

He looked from Belle's face to her belly and back again. Her size seemed to indicate that she was much farther along than just a few months…

And then another thought presented itself. One that filled him with both hope and dread.

Mr. Jones may have lied about much more than just his feelings.

"Quite a big lad you'll have on your hands," Rumplestiltskin commented, nodding toward Belle's abdomen.

She laughed. "Yes, the doctors keep insisting that he's farther along than I think, but I keep telling them that that's impossible since I wasn't even with Killian then. And then there are all the people who tried to tell me that Killian isn't who I think, that I should stay away from him…as if they would know better than me! I may have some gaps in my memory, but I'm not an idiot. They don't know him the way I do. I wouldn't be bullied, you know. No one decides my fate but me."

At that, the sorcerer knew he had to leave before he said or did something he would regret.

"Of course, Ms. French," he said, bowing slightly and making his way to the door. "I'll be by again, perhaps for a new book. Have a lovely evening."

As he showed himself out and made his way down Main Street, he stopped and decided to make a detour at his shop. He would need to be prepared, after all, for when he visited a certain pirate.

And no one would ever find the remains.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

Killian Jones, also known as Captain Hook to those who either hated or feared him, knew the moment that Rumplestiltskin arrived back in town.

He also knew exactly where his old crocodile would go. Of course he would discern Belle's location, and then go see her. With so few people in the world who actually loved him, he wouldn't be able to stay away.

Perched on a roof across from the library, spyglass in hand, he watched Rumplestiltskin hesitate briefly before entering the building.

He only had two small windows to peer through, but it was enough. He saw Rumplestiltskin notice Belle's condition, and noted the straightening of his enemy's back and the shaking of his hands.

At some point, the crocodile would figure it out. Of that, Hook was certain. He would be able to puzzle out the truth, and while it would bring him some comfort, he would still be faced with the truth that Hook had taken his love in all ways. She was in love with him, and they'd been intimate for months. Hook would even admit to caring about the girl to a certain extent.

But, in the end, she was just a chess piece. And the crocodile would have to face that the mother of his child, as Hook had suspected Belle's condition back in the hospital, was in love with another man.

He would have to watch as Hook walked hand-in-hand with Belle down Main Street, and someday be pushing his child on the swing set at the playground.

Oh, yes. Hook was in this for the long haul. As long as it takes.

And the beauty of the thing was that the crocodile would not dare kill him now, not when it would destroy Belle to lose him. She was pregnant, still reeling from her memory loss, and had not grown close to many others in town. The Ruby girl was the only one who hadn't given up on Belle, despite her taste in partners.

Emma Swan had finally stopped hovering around. She had warned Belle, told her about the terrible things he'd done in both lands, but in the end Belle had said that the decision was hers and hers alone. She assured all concerned that people had the capability to change, and that she thought he had.

Funny how she had once thought the same about the crocodile.

Killian grinned as he watched his enemy stalk out of the library with murder etched in the lines of his face.

For a split second, the pirate hoped that he had not misjudged his own immunity.


End file.
